Recent News about Dispute at the West Coast Ports

Recent News about Dispute at the West Coast Ports

Logistics management concerns planning, implementing and controlling the movement and warehousing of merchandise and the associated information between the source and the delivery points. Logistics management ensures that there is an efficient flow of goods to satisfy customer demands. This paper focuses on the recent news about President Obama’s decision to intervene in the 9 month long dispute at the West Coast Ports in the U.S., which threatened to collapse the free flow of imports and exports in the region.

The dispute at the West Coast ports that had been a news item in the Unites States for over 9 months occurred between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) made up of ship owners and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), who provide giant lifters to for cargo. This dispute attracts media attention from the whole world, since the involved association and union are the logistical managers of 29 ports in the West Coast region. The impasse greatly impacts the economy of the U.S as well as that of Asia. The 29 ports under the control of the union and the association in dispute collectively account for half of the imported cargo into the U.S. On February 14, 2015, The New York Times, a leading media house in the U.S., gave the dispute more attention, when President Obama offered to intervene to mediate the standstill.

The PMA and ILWU have been accusing each other for the growing congestion at the ports. By February 14, 2015, the number of docked container vessels waiting for unloading at the anchors in the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors had grown to 22, from 14 on February, 12. These two ports are very important for the economy of America, since they handle one-third of the nation’s imported cargo. Furthermore, the number of vessels that were waiting to anchor at these two ports carrying both bulk and general cargo reached 32 on February 14, 2015.

Poor logistical management has adversely affected the operation of ships, which are on a tight logistic schedule while coordinating with trucks and trains on shore. Such ships have been forced to wait for over two weeks at the dock before unloading. For this reason, their return trips to Asia to deliver goods as per customer’s needs have been delayed. Similarly, American retailers, agricultural exporters and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce complained about losing millions of dollars as a result of the growing port congestion. Consumer products and spare parts shipped from Asia have been arriving late, while perishable export products such as oranges and apples have been rotting before reaching their destinations. The massive loss as a result of the slowdown caused the president’s intervention to avert further loss.

This news item shows that the world is becoming more globalized and networked, and a slight delay in the supply chain may cause massive inconveniences and losses both to the importers and exporters. Because of the globalization, there is an exponential growth in customer demand for international products. Thus, there must be a free and seamless flow of goods across the supply chain. This goal can only be achieved through efficient logistics and supply chain management at the ports.

This paper highlighted the news item concerning the dispute at the West Coast Ports between the Pacific Maritime Association of the major ship owners and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, who is responsible for the loading and unload cargo using giant lifters in the West Coast region. The standoff threatened the seamless flow of imports and exports. The logistical crisis caused by the dispute prompted president Obama to intervene. The article was written by professional writer - Olivia Adamson, more her papers you can find at fresh essay writing service.